The Final Days
by The Exile
Summary: The Director's diary tells the story of the Day of Lavos as it really happened.


The Final Days

March 23rd, 1998AD

We've been getting more and more anomalous reports from the world geological systems lately. Frankly, its worrying me. Either the systems are malfunctioning - and those things cost billions to repair - or we're in for one massive series of earthquakes. The shelter domes aren't even working - they've fallen into disrepair through lack of use. I was considering warning the press, but I don't want to cause alarm. Human chaos is bad - it can do a lot more damage than any earthquake could.

March 30th, 1998AD

The Blackbird space satellite is picking up faint signals again. Something is heading towards our planet. It's still too far away to pick up on the telescopes but already it's emitting an enormously high energy reading. We have no idea of the size of this thing. Unless the systems are malfunctioning like everything else on the damn planet. Now the plate systems are insisting there's something moving inside the planet's core. At least my computer works.

June 3rd, 1998AD

We had a few minor earthquakes today. Nothing the emergency services couldn't handle. The government is finally getting off its ass and repairing the shelter domes. I'm shock proofing the computers. The Supervisor is pissed off because the jetbike racing was cancelled. He didn't even get a refund. The Operator's been acting strangely as well. I think he can sense the earthquake. The Operator's a bit like an animal sometimes.

September 30th, 1998AD

Porre Capital has just been hit by magnitude 8 earthquakes. It knocked out the power and the Internet and almost collapsed the stock market. There were repercussions everywhere, of course. Fortunately for me, I have my own generator and my own tier 1 ISP client. Supervisor tells me that the security staff ran an emergency earthquake drill. There's no way anyone is evacuating me in an emergency. These systems aren't exactly portable and I'm not abandoning the computers to their fate. Anyone who touches me gets a printer in the face.

December 12th, 1998AD

We had a few more reports from the Blackbird space satellite. The object is closer now. We received a few pictures but they're still so faint, all I can tell is that its round and green. It shouldn't present a threat to Earth as it definitely isn't big enough to make an impact upon contact. It'll probably burn up in the atmosphere. The Operator thinks its an alien life form, of course. He's been staring at it all day. He practically worships it. Strange boy.

February 20th, 1999AD

The plate system has gone completely haywire. The readings are off the scale. It's predicting earthquakes, volcanoes, tidal shifts... Guardia is now in a state of national emergency. The shelter domes are all repaired and are being reinforced. The Operator says this is it. The Big One. The end of the world. Armageddon. I told him it better not be, my computers might get damaged by that.

March 13th, 1999AD

We just had a report from the satellite - the unknown object is rapidly accelerating towards the planet. Coincidentally, the computers now insist that the thing in the planet's core is rising to the surface. Maybe the two are related? We still can't make out what either object is. I've decided to put more research into it. Maybe we can halt this problem by destroying either the thing in space, the thing in the planet's core, or both. How do you destroy something like that anyway?

April 30th, 1999AD

Something is wrong. Very wrong. My computers are showing warning signals. MY computers! My computers didn't even care about the nuclear missiles Porre theatened us with ten years ago! I'm backing up my files and locking the doors. I don't think I have much time until

(The entries abruptly break off here.)

January 21st, 2005AD

The computers work! I'm alive! The clock works again!

Is anyone else alive to read this? Anyone? If you're alive, please respond. I'm the Director of the Information Centre. I'm alive but trapped in this room. Rubble must be blocking the door. I still have food and water from the vending machines and coffee machine but it won't last forever.

January 22nd, 2005AD

I have the system back online. Few systems outside the Arris Dome are responding, although I have signals from the Proto, Bangor, Trann and Geno. I found a recording of what exactly happened as well.

I should have trusted the plate systems. They weren't malfunctioning. They worked perfectly. It was me - stupid, frail human that I am - who was in error. It came out of the ground, ripping apart the continental crusts as it did so, and threw half the planet's core into the air to rain down upon the surface. Every human settlement on the planet was destroyed, leaving a blasted wasteland. It really was Armageddon. I have no idea how the hell my computer and I survived intact. Food and oxygen supplies are running low... soon there'll just be the computer. I hope it can run the place without me.

January 25th, 2005AD

The Supervisor is alive! He pulled me out of the ruins. I should have guessed nothing could kill the Supervisor. He's a tough old bastard - a Porre veteran. He's more like my bodyguard than a Dome supervisor. He claims that the Operator just disappeared. I don't believe him. Knowing the Supervisor, he probably ate him.

February 2nd, 2005AD

Between us, we repaired the security cameras. We have this recording. You're not going to believe this. It has to be a hoax. It has to be.

It's from my computer room, just before the Big One hit. The Supervisor is there, trying to physically drag me out of my chair and being hit in the face with a printer. Then the Operator runs like hell and the Supervisor chases after him. I'm alone. I bodily shield the computers. The roof collapses. Lava and masonry are falling on top of me, then...

A big green jellyfish drops out of nowhere. I swear. A BIG GREEN JELLYFISH! It's twice the size of both of us. It shields us both. The computers are reacting to it, going berserk. My computers never go berserk. When it knows we're safe, the jellyfish flies off. It's approaching the thing from the planet's core. It hovers above it. What the hell is it doing? Fighting? Communicating? Mating? I really can't tell. The cameras got hit after that.

February 5th, 2005AD

The Supervisor woke me up in the middle of the night, screaming at the top of his voice. He dragged me to the computer and pointed to the recording, the one with the jellyfish. He was pointing to a shape just underneath the jellyfish, a barely visible pixellated shape.

"The Operator!" he kept yelling, "It took the Operator! It's got the Operator!"

April 30th, 2300AD

I jus' woke up. Dunno where I am. Can't remember a damn thing. It's a big fricken' mess like everywhere else. There's this computer, though. There's food here. Well... rats. rats is food. There's wossname... survivors here, too. Can ya believe that? They let me stay 'cause I can use the computer. It won't let anyone else near it. I'm goin' back to sleep. So hungry. So cold. The computer's nice and warm. Maybe I can make a nest in the wires, like a rat. Wish I could remember somethin'. Guess it don't matter now. Gotta look ta the wossname... future. Gotta survive. Yeah. Survive. I'm goin' back to sleep. Did I just type that already?


End file.
